In our first article on the Worldwide Convention on 3D printing in India, Dr. Das highlighted the necessity for {qualifications} and certifications to extend the expansion and adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) in India. The event of latest supplies and technological processes requires rigorous testing, simulation, and validation to ensure their efficiency underneath numerous circumstances, resembling excessive temperature and strain.
Increasing on the topic, Dr. Shirish .S. Kale, Director, Centre for Army Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC), Protection R&D Group (DRDO), Authorities of India stated, “In aerospace and protection, we embrace 3D printed elements with unwavering confidence. Rigorous certification and qualification processes guarantee their reliability and precision, heralding a safe and progressive future for our {industry}.”
Dr. Kale make clear CEMILAC’s use of 3D printing expertise and the significance of certifications and {qualifications} within the AM sector.
CEMILAC drives ahead additive manufacturing in India
Over time, CEMILAC has developed its procedures to make sure design and check adequacy, fulfilling its major accountability for all army air helicopter techniques within the nation. With its services in Hyderabad and Bangalore, CEMILAC has efficiently indigenized and authorized over 100 metallic alloys, polymers, and composite merchandise for army initiatives, aspiring to leverage this ecosystem for AM supplies. A devoted chapter throughout the Army Airworthiness Certification Framework doc explains the design, improvement, manufacturing, and certification of army air techniques and airborne shops. This doc was unveiled by India’s Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, in 2021.
Dr. Kale highlights that CEMILAC made “important strides” by collaborating with the engineering pressure, ensuing within the manufacturing of the primary 3D printed non-critical half in 2019. This half was subsequently certified and authorized, and it’s at the moment in use in a army plane. In 2020, CEMILAC additionally adopted the identical process for certifying 3D printed elements.
This process marks a major step ahead within the certification of non-critical element improvement. Whereas these elements are thought of non-critical, their high quality is just not compromised. The supplies used on this course of have obtained certification via materials choice offered by CEMILAC. As well as, CEMILAC has additional superior by establishing a qualification check framework for certifying 3D printed elements, together with machine and materials qualification processes, post-processing, and half qualification. To facilitate these developments, CEMILAC entered right into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ASTM Worldwide in December 2022.
“For vital half certification, related approaches are used for uncooked materials course of improvement and preliminary upper-level testing. In 3D printing, course of variability and materials efficiency are important. Statistical course of management monitoring is crucial for assessing mechanical and different properties, serving as the ultimate statistical checkpoint,” added Dr. Kale.
Bridging the hole between academia and {industry} to advance 3D printing
In its efforts, CEMILAC is actively engaged within the improvement of elements, collaborating intently with establishments such because the Indian Institute of Expertise (IITs) and MITs, with their analysis supported by DRDO funding. It’s noteworthy that academia possesses important infrastructure for materials testing, usually underutilized by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This collaborative effort not solely strengthens ties between {industry} and academia but additionally facilitates reciprocal studying. MSMEs, specifically, stand to profit by tapping into the superior services of establishments like IITs, looking for counsel from area consultants, all whereas receiving certification assist from CEMILAC. Moreover, academia extends its experience to startups and incubation facilities via industry-backed initiatives.
Dr. Kale highlighted the mannequin of collaboration and its relevance in advancing 3D printing expertise. Whereas quite a few R&D organizations and Facilities of Excellence (CoE) home ample data sources, there exists a “disconnect between this reservoir of information and the commercial sector.” To propel ‘Make in India‘ onto the worldwide stage, standardizing processes and supplies is deemed crucial.
DRDO’s roadmap to reinforce Indian AM sector
Dr. T. Ram Prabhu, Joint Director, Regional Centre of Army Airworthiness (RCMA), CEMILAC – DRDO Laboratory defined DRDO’s roadmap and actions carried out with the Indian Air Power (IAF.) He first emphasised the significance of the powder reuse technique, masking facets like allowable powder reuse, methodology, property variations, and certification standards. These factors must be bolstered within the AM sector via collaboration between {industry} consultants and academia, he stated. Tutorial researchers, working alongside organizations like DRDO and others, can deal with materials reuse to handle points resembling contamination, moisture, particle dimension distribution, storage circumstances, and extra.
Dr. Prabhu elaborated on how qualification and certification processes supply potential enhancements to productiveness. Relying on element geometry, the 3D printing of elements usually requires a number of days. To expedite this, using a number of high-powered lasers could be thought of, sustaining security and reliability requirements. Moreover, harnessing machine studying (ML) and synthetic intelligence (AI) permits for course of optimization, complete understanding of course of parameters, and real-time sensor information utilization to detect anomalies, specializing in floor roughness and microstructures. The utilization of generative design software program can facilitate the creation of progressive designs tailor-made for AM, providing numerous benefits by way of weight discount and enhanced efficiency, as highlighted by the Joint Director.
Lastly, lattice buildings must also be an essential focus of the AM sector. As per his insights, these buildings supply “super potential” for numerous purposes, enhancing properties resembling damping capability, crashworthiness, stiffness, and thermal conductivity. Moreover, they successfully cut back weight as a consequence of their inherent anti-structural nature. “This analysis space has good potential for copy of the non-vertical construction in typical plane,” concluded Dr. Prabhu.
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Featured picture reveals CEMILAC headquarters. Picture by way of CEMILAC.
